Holly Hunter

Petite, fiery, and altogether confident, Holly Hunter was an Academy Award-winning actress and producer who rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s with a string of roles in challenging a...
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Richard Chamberlain books New York stage return

By:
WENN.com
Aug 14, 2014

Veteran actor Richard Chamberlain is returning to the New York stage for the first time in 15 years. The 80-year-old star is joining the cast of a forthcoming Off-Broadway revival of David Rabe's 1971 play Sticks and Bones, a parody of 1950s TV sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
Chamberlain will portray Father Donald in the dark comedy, about a family experiencing problems following the eldest son's return from the Vietnam War.
Bill Pullman and Holly Hunter have also been cast in the play, which is due to begin its run at the Pershing Square Signature Center in October (14).
Chamberlain last graced the Big Apple stage in a 1999 Broadway revival of The Sound of Music, in which he played Captain von Trapp.

The Man Of Steel sequel, which will feature Ben Affleck as Batman, has been named Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Warner Bros. executives revealed the blockbuster's title on Wednesday (21May14) as production began in Michigan.
Zack Snyder is directing the film, in which Henry Cavill will reprise his role as Clark Kent, aka Superman.
The movie will also feature Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Batman's manservant Alfred and Holly Hunter, while Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane will reprise their characters from Man of Steel.

Drew Altizer/WENN
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are moving their reign of violence and terror from Westeros to the US. The Game of Thrones show runners have signed on to write and direct Dirty White Boys, an adaptation of the novel by Stephen Hunter. The story follows three escaped convicts — Lamar Pye, who fled prison after killing a fellow inmate, his mentally disabled cousin, Odell, and an artist-turned-felon, Richard — as they travel across the Southern states in an attempt to escape from the state troopers. They hide out with a convict groupie, who killed her parents as a teenager, and form a twisted family as they embark on a journey filled with mishaps and misfortune.
The pair currently has no timeline for getting Dirty White Boys onto the big screen, as they're busy focusing on the "52-week" job that is Game of Thrones. While some fans might be upset about any project that takes Weiss and Benioff's attention away from the show, they should have nothing to worry about, seeing as Dirty White Boys is essentially Game of Thrones, if the show took place in the Southern US. In fact, the two projects are so similar that it's hard not to picture characters from the Seven Kingdoms when reading the film's summary...
Lamar Pye is Jaquen H'gar!Jaquen might not be the most prominent character in the series, but he did give us the show's unofficial motto: Valar Morghulis, or All Men Must Die. Like Lamar, he's a career criminal with a reputation for violence and leads a gang of dangerous, hardened baddies. He also escaped from captivity (with the help of Arya Stark) in order to avoid a life-threatening situation, he's on the run from the authorities, and he's willing to kill all of the people who stand in his way on his journey to freedom. While Lamar is dedicated to protecting Odell, Jaquen is indebted to Arya, and kills the people she asks him to. It's like Hunter subtracted Jacquen's powers, gave him a new name, and decided to write a novel about him.
Odell is Hodor! In Dirty White Boys, Odell is Lamar's cousin, a phsyically strong but mentally disabled man who escaped an abusive family with Lamar's help. Lamar now takes care of and protects Odell, and they are unfailingly loyal to each other. In Game of Thrones, Hodor is the Stark family's stable hand, a physically strong but mentally disabled man who helped Bran and Rickon escape when Winterfell was burned. He carries Bran around on his back and protects him, and they are unfailingly loyal to each other. Basically, the only difference between these two is the size of their vocabularies.
Richard Peed is Gendry!These two have a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Richard is a reserved, talented artist who is capable of great violence, but mostly tags along on Lamar's adventure in order to keep his protection. Gendry is a quiet, talented blacksmith who is forced to travel with Arya after he is kicked out of his apprenticeship in King's Landing and he is no longer protected by the king. Although he's more interested in crafting swords than fighting with them, Gendry doesn't shy away from violence if he needs to protect his friends, and just like Richard ends up in a gang of misfits, so does Gendry, tagging along with Arya and Lommy Greenhands before joining the Brotherhood Without Banners.
Ruta Beth Tull is Melisandre!If Ruta Beth has a love of the color red, these two are a match made in heaven. Ruta's a "convict groupie," who writes letters to Richard describing what she believes to be their cosmic connection and attempting to bond over the fact that she murdered her parents. If there's any character in Game of Thrones who believes in having a cosmic or spiritual connection with someone, it's the Red Priestess herself, Melisandre. She believes that only she understands Stannis and his power, and that only she can help him win the Iron Throne, and she proves her loyalty by giving birth to a Shadow Demon that kills Renly. Their girls' nights would be terrifyingly entertaining.
Bud Pewtie is Robb Stark!An honorable but flawed man, who is courageous and determined to do what is right? He can only be a Stark. In this case, Bud Pewtie, the state trooper who is on the hunt for Lamar and his buddies, is the Dirty White Boys version of Robb Stark, the former King in the North. Both men are good at heart, and strive for justice. Both men are confused about the paths they've chosen in life. And both men have terrible taste in women: for Robb it was Talisa/Jeyne Westerling, who he impulsively marries despite already being betrothed to a Frey girl, and for Bed it's Holly, the wife of his partner Ted. Let's hope Bud isn't going to a wedding any time soon.
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Oscar winner Holly Hunter has joined the all-star cast of the Man Of Steel sequel. The Piano star joins 300: Rise of an Empire's Callan Mulvey and The Wolverine actor Tao Okamoto as cast newcomers.
It is not yet known who they'll play or how their characters will impact the superhero movie.
The trio will join Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons, Gal Gadot and Jesse Eisenberg in the blockbuster, while Henry Cavill, Diane Lane, Amy Adams and Laurence Fishburne will be reprising their roles from the 2013 Superman movie.

Tribeca Film via Everett Collection
Ten years after voicing Elastigirl in one of the greatest superhero movies of our time (The Incredibles), Holly Hunter might be looking for a new super suit. The Oscar winner has joined the cast of the upcoming Batman Vs. Superman, along with 300: Rise of an Empire actor Callan Mulvey and Wolverine star Tao Okamoto. In a statement about the casting decisions, director Zack Snyder revealed that he created Hunter's role especially for her, saying "Holly has always been one of my favorite actresses. She has immense talent and is always captivating on screen. I had an opportunity to meet her a while back and knew instantly that I had to work with her." Snyder hasn't yet revealed who she, Mulvey or Okamoto will be playing, but has said that all three characters are original.
Of course, that hasn't stopped fans from speculating that the "original" characters may later be revealed as major DC characters, in the same vein as Marion Cotillard's Miranda Tate revealing to be Talia al Ghul, or Benedict Cumberbatch's John Harrison ending up as Khan all along. Given how tightly Snyder and the team behind Batman Vs. Superman have kept details about the film under wraps, and the fact that Hunter will likely play a major role in the film, it wouldn't be surprising if she turned out to be a hero herself. Plus, it has the added benefit of avoiding any fan backlash, since people can't get upset about casting if they don't know who she's playing.
But with three major superheroes in the mix and very few plot details revealed, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what Hunter's potential secret identity could be. Since the film is a Man of Steel sequel and as such part of the Superman universe that Snyder has created, it seems logical for her to play one of his colleagues. There are dozens of reporters and editors at The Daily Planet that Hunter could portray, but we assume Snyder would want to give her a more important or recognizable character. The same rule would apply to the police officers and media moguls that both Kent and Superman deal with, although we wouldn't be surprised if she turned up in an authoritative role. However, if Snyder wanted to expand one of those roles — perhaps Maggie Sawyer, Metropolis police chief? — Hunter would be a great fit.
Unfortunately, many of Superman's powerful friends aren't as iconic as the characters in the Batman family, but there is at least one option that would suit Hunter. If Snyder still wants to explore Superman's origins, she could play Sharon Vance, one of Clark's childhood friends who shared a body with the cosmic entity Kismet, as the character would likely be involved in both stories related to Superman's past and present. In addition, Sharon is monitored by Lex Luthor for a time during the comic books, and Luthor is the main villain of the film, Hunter could play a significant role in that storyline.
However, since Sharon/Kismet only appear briefly in the comics, it seems a bit more likely that Hunter would play someone from Batman's cast of characters. Some fans have already hypothesized that Hunter would play Barbara Gordon, who eventually becomes Batgirl and Oracle. Alternatively, she could also portray Talia al Ghul or Selina Kyle, but the choice to bring those characters into the mix so soon after Christopher Nolan gave his take on them would come off peculiar. And then there are the civilians. The best bet for a Batman character for Hunter might be an everyday citizen who gets roped into the mayhem somehow. We could see Hunter as Sarah Essen Gordon, the wife of Gotham police commissioner James Gordon, who takes over the job from her husband for a short time.
Alternatively, Snyder could turn to the Wonder Woman inner-circle for Hunter's "secret identity," as Batman Vs. Superman will be a launching point for a solo Wonder Woman franchise. Of the three universes, Wonder Woman has the largest number of female supporting characters, none of whom have been portrayed on the big screen, which would make it a bit harder for fans and critics to predict who Hunter might play. For a more action-intense role, Hunter could be any one of the Amazons, although if we had to bet on anyone, it would be Queen Hyppolyta, Wonder Woman's mother and the leader of the tribe.
There is also the possibility that Snyder isn't lying about Hunter's character, and she really will be playing a completely original role (personally, we'd love to see her play a villainous role alongside Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor). Although, based our experience with blockbuster casting mystery, we're having a hard time believing him. Guess we'll all just have to wait until May 2016 to find out.
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Netflix / ABC
The 2014 Screen Actor Guild Award nominees were announced Wednesday morning, and after losing out to Claire Danes for best actress in a drama at the Emmy's this past fall, we're sure Kerry Washington is glad she's got another chance at victory. If we've learned anything from Olivia Pope on Scandal, it's that you never give up (and obviously that you always look amazing while doing so).
Other TV nominees we can expect to see strutting down the red carpet are Kevin Spacey from Netflix's House of Cards, Jessica Lange from American Horror Story, Don Cheadle from House of Lies, and Matt Damon from Behind the Candelbra. Oh, and get ready to see the cast of Arrested Development running amok since they've been nominated for best ensemble in a comedy series.
Check out the film nominees here. The 20th Annual SAG Awards will take place on Jan. 18, 2014, at 8 PM.
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk EmpireBryan Cranston, Breaking BadJeff Daniels, The NewsroomPeter Dinklage, Game of ThronesKevin Spacey, House of Cards
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Claire Danes, HomelandAnna Gunn, Breaking BadJessica Lange, American Horror Story: CovenMaggie Smith, Downton AbbeyKerry Washington, Scandal
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 RockJason Bateman, Arrested DevelopmentTy Burrell, Modern FamilyDon Cheadle, House of LiesJim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang TheoryJulie Bowen, Modern FamilyEdie Falco, Nurse JackieTina Fey, 30 RockJulia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boardwalk EmpireBreaking BadDownton AbbeyGame of ThronesHomeland
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 RockArrested DevelopmentThe Big Bang TheoryModern FamilyVeep
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Matt Damon, Behind the CandelabraMichael Douglas, Behind the CandelabraJeremy Irons, The Hollow CrownRob Lowe, Killing KennedyAl Pacino, Phil Spector
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Angela Bassett, Betty &amp; CorettaHelena Bonham Carter, Burton and TaylorHolly Hunter, Top of the LakeHelen Mirren, Phil SpectorElisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
Boardwalk EmpireBreaking BadGame of ThronesHomelandThe Walking Dead
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Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
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New mum Evan Rachel Wood took to Twitter.com on Thursday (08Aug13) to remember the cast and crew of her 10-year-old movie Thirteen. The actress' memory was tweaked by the film's director Catherine Hardwicke, when she tweeted, "Can you believe thirteen was released 10 years ago?".
Wood, who starred in the film alongside then-newcomer Nikki Reed, who co-wrote the project, and Holly Hunter, replied, "Seems longer to me. Happy anniversary! Miss all you guys."
She later added, "thanks for changing my life catherine (sic)."

The Piano writer/director Jane Campion feels haunted by the ending of the Oscar-winning film as she is convinced Holly Hunter's character should have died during the finale. The 1993 drama, about a mute pianist and her daughter, was a huge hit at the box office and won Oscars for its two stars Hunter and Anna Paquin, as well as a screenplay award for Campion.
However, the moviemaker insists she made the wrong decision about the ending, when Hunter's character, Ada, dives into the ocean with her foot deliberately tangled in a rope after her beloved piano is thrown from a boat.
Ada subsequently resurfaces, but Campion now feels the film would have been better if she had died.
She tells Britain's Radio Times, "I thought some of it (The Piano) was really good, but I thought, 'For freaking hell's sake, she should have stayed under there (the water).' It would be more real, wouldn't it? It would be better. I didn't have the nerve at the time."
However, Hunter insists she is glad Campion didn't change the film's conclusion: "That was something Jane toyed with when we shot the movie, to end it there. And she's still thinking about it! Me, I love that it's a reverie for Ada, not a nightmare."

Hurt will play a Texas Ranger on the hunt for the criminals, while Hunter will portray Parker's mother Emma, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Miley Cyrus was briefly attached as Bonnie Parker but she has since dropped out of the project.
Oscars producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are the brains behind the miniseries.

Played the teacher's union president opposite Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal in inner city school drama "Won’t Back Down"

Cast in leading role opposite Danny DeVito and Queen Latifah in "Livin' Out Loud"

Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (May)

Won Emmy for playing a fictionalized Jane Roe in the drama "Roe v. Wade" (NBC)

Cast in first starring role in a TV series, as a tormented police detective on TNT drama "Saving Grace"; earned Golden Globe (2007), SAG (2007, 2008, 2009) and Emmy (2008, 2009) nominations for Best Actress in a Drama Series

Nominated for the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in Drama Series

Played the deranged wife of Robin Williams in the dark comedy "The Big White"

At age 15, invited to a summer apprenticeship at a repertory theater in upstate New York

Began acting in her high school drama club

Earned an Emmy nomination playing the wife of a union-organizer in Showtime's "Harlan County War"

Reteamed with the Coen brothers for "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Reteamed with Dreyfuss for the romance "Once Around"

Played a recovering alcoholic romanced by a recovering drug addict in "Jesus' Son"

Starred opposite Richard Dreyfuss in Steven Spielberg's "Always"

Had supporting part in Jonathan Demme's "Swing Shift"; role was substantially cut before the film's release

Cast in the ensemble "Nine Lives"; Rodrigo García directed a series of vignettes, offering glimpses into the lives of nine women

Voiced the character Elastigirl in Pixar animation film "The Incredibles"

Earned Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for her role as a secretary in "The Firm"

Played a pregnant bank teller in the female-driven "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her"; received Emmy nomination (aired on Showtime in 2001 in lieu of theatrical release)

Film acting debut, "The Burning"

Broadway debut, Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart"

Made TV-movie debut in "Svengali" (CBS)

Won numerous accolades, including a Best Actress Oscar, as the mute Ada in Jane Campion's "The Piano"

Reprised off-Broadway role of Carnelle Scott for the feature film adaption of Henley's "Miss Firecracker"

Summary

Petite, fiery, and altogether confident, Holly Hunter was an Academy Award-winning actress and producer who rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s with a string of roles in challenging and critically acclaimed films. After a series of supporting roles, Hunter had her first starring role in the Coen Brothers' comedy "Raising Arizona" (1987), and that same year, she also earned an Oscar nod for her performance in "Broadcast News" (1987). Following an Emmy-winning turn as a fictionalized Jane Roe in "Roe v. Wade" (NBC, 1989), Hunter earned the biggest accolades of her career - as well as a Best Actress Oscar - for her renowned performance as a mute pianist in "The Piano" (1993). From there, she delivered quality supporting and leading turns in "The Firm" (1993), "A Life Less Ordinary" (1997), "Crash" (1997) and "Jesus' Son" (1999). In the new millennium, Hunter was exemplary as a frustrated mother in "thirteen" (2003) and enjoyed voicing Elastigirl in the Pixar hit "The Incredibles" (2004). She stepped away from the big screen to star in the short-lived, but critically acclaimed cable series "Saving Grace" (TNT, 2007-2010), proving that her extraordinary talents could make the successful transition to the small screen.

Education

Name

Carnegie Mellon University

Notes

When she was a struggling actress living in NYC, Hunter shared an apartment with fellow aspiring performer Frances McDormand.

"With Holly, there's no bullsh*t. Period. You know where you stand. If you spend three minutes with her, you get to see who she is." – Albert Brooks, Hunter's co-star in "Broadcast News, quoted to New York magazine, Dec. 14, 1987

"She has a relentless drive to find the truth in whatever part she's undertaking. There's no character, no matter how demented, that Holly couldn't play and make her sympathetic" – director Michael Ritchie on Hunter to USA Today, Nov. 12, 1993

"I actually think the more personal information you have about an actor, the more you have to carve out for yourself when you go to a movie and see them in it. More and more movies have been pressured to allow reporters and TV cameras to come onto the set while you're working, and I find that a real violation. Acting, for me, is the last vestige of doing something that I would like to feel really naive about, and I like to feel very protected when I'm doing it. It's an arena where you may not know what the answers are, may not know what a scene is about when you're doing it. It's a creative place and it's too private, too personal to be violated." – Hunter to Jodie Foster in Interview magazine, November 1995

"I want to change how I approach acting as I get older. I want there to be a reason I'm playing certain characters at certain times. I think characters come to me when I'm ready to play them." – Hunter quoted in The New York Times, Oct. 11, 1998

"I like to take chances professionally because it helps me personally. Because I'm taking them, too, I'm not separated from my professional self. They're just in different context from my own life." – Hunter to USA Today, Nov. 11, 1998

Hunter served as a juror at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

"Good scripts are very rare for an actor and particularly an actress. It is a crap shoot as to whether you will read any good material. Good material is an 'almost never' situation. I have actually read a hundred scripts without reading a good one." – Hunter quoted in The Daily Telegraph, May 8, 2000

"I have a natural intensity that is just a part of who I am. And I think my intensity comes from somewhere else. I think that my intensity comes from being profoundly deaf. I have no hearing at all in my left ear." Before there is time to ask more, she says quickly, "I was nine, the mumps." Then she adds, "I think that has made me an acute listener and acutely tuned in to what people are saying." – from The Daily Telegraph, May 8, 2000

"She's a thoroughbred. When you ride a thoroughbred you know you're on a great horse, you're not just getting from A to B." – Tony Bill, director of "Harlan County War" to Us Weekly, June 12, 2000

"Having that sense of entitlement is something that most actors actually lack. Entitlement is a very, very fragile area for artists, actors in movies especially, who have tremendous amounts of money, status and trappings can begin to feel that that’s what entitles you. Whereas, training really enhances and supports the more fragile side. Your imagination and approach, your desire to explore, all of those things I think are enhanced by going to a school like Carnegie, or Yale, or any of the top schools." – Hunter to Venice magazine, 2003

"As I've gotten older, lead roles have definitely begun disappearing. I've still managed to have a career that's fulling, but not like this. Not like Grace. Because Grace is over forty and fully in charge." – Hunter on her role in "Saving Grace" to Emmy magazine, Issue No. 3, 2008